TVAA - Texas Visual Arts Association

The TVAA mission is to encourage artists and to promote art in Texas.

Enriching the Dallas art scene: The Texas Visual Arts Association inspires communication and cooperation between artists and the Dallas community by providing exhibitions in painting, sculpture, printmaking, pastels, watercolors, computer generated art, photography, and mixed media. TVAA offers educational workshops, seminars, and tours of major museum and private collections. TVAA served in promoting the development of the Dallas Arts District and The Contemporary, originally known as D'Art. It has a history of supporting worthwhile causes including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the SPCA of Texas, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity.

The Texas Visual Arts Association sponsors several annual exhibitions: a Membership Exhibition, a National or Regional Open Exhibition, a Citation Exhibition for members only, and a Signature Member Exhibition. In addition, an Annual High School Exhibition is sponsored by TVAA, encouraging students from the Dallas area to compete for awards and scholarships. All these exhibits are judged by qualified art critics, museum directors and curators, gallery owners, and art educators.

Since 1947, the organization was known as the Dallas Chapter of the Texas Fine Arts Association. In 1986 it was reincorporated as the Texas Visual Arts Association (TVAA) and acquired a new state leadership with members from east, south and west Texas. The organization maintains approximately 300 members each year, all in diverse media, to produce the most interesting exhibitions for the community.

Bringing art into public spaces:In 2001 and 2002 TVAA was invited by NorthPark Center to open an art gallery for the holidays in cooperation with the Texas Sculpture Association and the Southwest Watercolor Society. Under the supervision of TVAA, the Signature Gallery was a great success with sales for many of the Signature Members of all three associations.

In August of 2006, the Texas Visual Arts Association was invited by the Plaza of the Americas in downtown Dallas to open a gallery on its main floor. This has given TVAA and the Plaza of the Americas the opportunity to become a viable part of the Dallas Arts District. It also offers TVAA members opportunities to exhibit with changing monthly exhibitions and to showcase artistic talent.